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Post by ragebot on Jan 5, 2024 5:11:26 GMT
So far I have been mostly getting swords under about 35 inches (some well under) like katanas and broadswords. But playing on face book I found a local group that meets weekly to train with German Longswords. They are sorta into HEMA and train with blunt edge swords but after training we play around cutting plastic bottles filled with water. I brought my Kriegmesser and was verry successful cutting the water bottles with it and got lots of questions about why I was the only one who could cut the thicker plastic bottles. Truth be told my best guess was I spent more time with my KO sharpener and probably spent more time cutting plastic bottles when no one was watching.
In any case I am looking into buying a German Longsword but know little to nothing about them. Probably want to keep the price under $US500 and lower is better. Part of my reasoning is this sword will be at the mercy of my KO WorkSharp and while not quite a beater sword it's main use will be cutting. My research on katanas suggested that a short guy like me would use a shorter sword while a tall buy would use a longer sword but I am not sure about that. So what is the best way for me to get up to speed on the German Longsword I should buy first.
As an aside the training has really opened my eyes to keeping the sword above my head and what I will call chopping down as opposed to slicing sideways like my water bottle cutting has trained me to do. Vid I made of the group cutting after the training for street cred.
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Post by ragebot on Jan 5, 2024 5:15:18 GMT
As an aside I picked up this training longsword on Amazon at half price just before Christmas. I had put it in my cart a while back and then there was a massive price drop. In researching it seems if you put things in your cart on Amazon and leave them there for a while there tends to be short lived big price drops. According to a buddy of mine who has over fifty things in his cart all the cool kids do it. www.amazon.com/dp/B007KKDGEK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Jan 5, 2024 5:58:43 GMT
My APOC Longsword is relative cheap, light (usable one handed) agile, well balanced, has distal taper and even a historical correct lenticular cross section. If you have no problem with the tactical look I can recommend it.
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Post by ragebot on Jan 5, 2024 6:11:39 GMT
My APOC Longsword is relative cheap, light (usable one handed) agile, well balanced, has distal taper and even a historical correct lenticular cross section. If you have no problem with the tactical look I can recommend it. I have the Atrim Survival Tanto and like it. Seems like a good choice for a starter and I like the price.
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AJGBlack
Member
"This world will stress you like Orson Wells on the radio." -RTJ
Posts: 387
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Post by AJGBlack on Jan 5, 2024 14:31:13 GMT
I really enjoy my Hanwei Tinker longsword. Light, fast, and inexpensive. It's also nice knowing that, if I catastrophically mess up a cut and damage the blade, I can purchase a new blade without having to buy the whole package again.
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Post by mrstabby on Jan 6, 2024 9:50:16 GMT
You could go for the new LK Chen Balaur arms 15th cen. German Longsword, there aren't many reviews yet but it seems good.
The Hanwei/Tinker is a known quantity, light and fast. There is also the Hanwei Rheinländer, bit heavier but there seem to be some QC issues popping up with the ring guard.
Other than specific german longswords, there the Windlass Roven (relatively light but flexible), Cold Steel Italian Longsword and Hand-and-a-half sword (heavier feeling than I would like because they are pretty thick and tough, but many like them, the Hand-and-a-half is said to be one of the best cutters in the price segment) and Ronin Katana has some longswords rumoured to be OK (Mattew Jensen has a few videos about some). Red Dragon Forge produces a few longswords in the sub 500 range, but they seem to be relatively heavy feeling (PoB at 20cm/8").
Above mentioned are the ones I have looked at and seem to be well built, but I have only had real experience with the Hanwei/Tinker Bastard and Longsword. Very light and fast, though I prefer the Bastardsword with fuller.
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Post by toddstratton1 on Jan 6, 2024 16:16:48 GMT
Hanwei Tinker are your best bet for a budget cutter longsword, Baluar arms is a close second. Any if their euro swords between the two. I find Baluar isn't always evenly sharpened though.
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Post by eastman on Jan 6, 2024 16:28:05 GMT
You could go for the new LK Chen Balaur arms 15th cen. German Longsword, there aren't many reviews yet but it seems good. The Hanwei/Tinker is a known quantity, light and fast. There is also the Hanwei Rheinländer, bit heavier but there seem to be some QC issues popping up with the ring guard. Other than specific german longswords, there the Windlass Roven (relatively light but flexible), Cold Steel Italian Longsword and Hand-and-a-half sword (heavier feeling than I would like because they are pretty thick and tough, but many like them, the Hand-and-a-half is said to be one of the best cutters in the price segment) and Ronin Katana has some longswords rumoured to be OK (Mattew Jensen has a few videos about some). Red Dragon Forge produces a few longswords in the sub 500 range, but they seem to be relatively heavy feeling (PoB at 20cm/8"). Above mentioned are the ones I have looked at and seem to be well built, but I have only had real experience with the Hanwei/Tinker Bastard and Longsword. Very light and fast, though I prefer the Bastardsword with fuller.
I also recommend the Balaur (LK Chen - 3rd generation) German Longsword
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Post by krox on Jan 6, 2024 17:02:34 GMT
I second the recommendations for the Balaur Arms German Longsword made by LK Chen. For the price, it's outstanding. I'm happy with mine. It's an great cutter with a comfortable grip and feels light in hand.
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